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Tuesday, December 22, 2015

My Music ABC: B

The Beatles
Their songs were my first music love. Because of them I started my interest in English - I wanted to know what they sang about. As far as I know, I am not the only one who began learning the language inspired by the Beatles. I have heard, quite a lot of people from various non English speaking countries felt similarly and did so too.
At that time, any books about bands or singers were not available in Polish stores. However, I did love listening to their songs so much that I made my own fan book. I collected all the pictures of the Liverpool band which I came across and magazine cut outs related to the group and its particular members (even when the Beatles split up) as well. And I stuck them in my album, and decorated it page by page. Guess what, I still have it - you can see some parts of the book in the pictures/collage below. Why have I kept the book till today? Well, the answer is because of sentimental reasons. I spent a lot of time not only making creating it, including writing the song lyrics, and what matters most, put my teenage heart into it. So many emotions connected with the music itself and the song lyrics - from the early pieces of the Cavern club times until the very last album.

When I was about fifteen, 'Hard Days Night' movie with the Beatles was to be on TV - those days such programs were usually on TV during school hours. I so much wanted to see that film and, since it was before video recorders came into being, I asked my mum to let me stay at home and watch it. She agreed - because I never skipped school, there was no class test on that day and she also knew what it meant to me. I was so incredibly happy about it that I remember it even till today. I also recall, my classmates envied me, I was allowed to stay at home to watch the movie. Well, mum is quite a special woman and mother.

Despite my interest in The Beatles, I also listened to other kinds of music and some time later, I discovered

I was enchanted. Soft ballads and such delightful heavy music! I need to mention that I never cared about anything but music - meaning the musicians looks and all the frame connected with a band. Especially that, as already mentioned, I hardly ever was able to see them in magazines or on TV.

Anyway, a neighbor who lived opposite us (I learned yesterday that he had died recently - God bless his soul) happened to have a record by Black Sabbath. He actually did not like it at all but I did! It was 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'. At that time, I also did not care much what the songs were about. On one hand, my English was not good enough then, on the other hand it really did not matter as, according to me, the music was stunning. I also found the Gothic font (the back of the album cover - all the titles were printed in such a style) quite interesting and learned to write the letters like that. I quite often used the Gothic-like letters to write special messages. Such text looked nice, the only problem was - somehow - most people had problems with reading and understanding it. Because it looked different to the usual hand writing.

Years later, while visiting Birmingham, I saw this on the pavement (look at the photo below). The thought: 'Black Sabbath!'. Of course I had to take a picture of the star. I cannot even recall if there were any other marks like that on the city streets. Wish the spot I liked had been a bit cleaner though.

BUDGIE
I have already written in one of my previous posts that when I was growing up, it was the state Polish radio which was my music window to the world. Especially some of its programs and radio presenters. That was how I learned about various older and more contemporary musicians. When I heard Budgie, I also found out that the name of the band means a short form for budgerigar. Plenty of splendid guitar riffs, epic pieces like 'Parents' or 'Riding My Nightmare' for example.
I reckon, I have seen them at concert - it was so long ago that I am almost not sure about it though. The only thing I can remember from the gig: I wanted them to play 'Turned to Stone' - my favorite song, but they did not. To my disappointment, they performed only the tracks from the latest Budgie album.

Blondie
Quite a few new wave bands/singers attracted my attention. One of them was Blondie. What I liked about Debbie Harry - in some songs she sounded so smoothly as if she was singing with no effort at all.

Polish 'B'Breakout
Their album 'Blues' is the one which I find the best. It was recorded with Tadeusz Nalepa as the main vocalist/guitarist. I believe the album can be called a classic of the Polish rock/blues. Thorough the years, the band also had a female singer but, in my opinion, no other songs by Breakout were more interesting than the ones from the 'Blues' album. Intriguing lyrics and superb blues tunes.

Classical 'B'sBorodin
'Prince Igor' and 'Polovstian Dances' - totally magnificent.
Borodin (do you know he was a chemist also?) wrote such picturesque music, listening to it I can easily imagine eg. horse riders dressed in traditional Russian noble, winter outfits, galloping through a snowy wood - guess which part of Prince Igor I mean. :)

Brahms
'Hungarian Dances' - all twenty one of them. Which one is more beautiful, more exquisite? Do not know. All of them make a gorgeous music collection.
'Lullaby'
My mum was the director of our local youth club xylophone group. She taught us to play and prepared the xylophone pieces for us. 'Lullaby' was one of them. I still can remember most of it by heart:
E, E, G
E, E, G.......

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According to me, looking stylish (regardless of age) means feeling good. I am interested in various things including arts, music and beauty. I am married to a wonderful Texan, I love my husband and family life. I very much enjoy discovering Texas and learning about Southern Cuisine.